Mariton: Wild Bergamot Blooming

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.  Photos by Carole Mebus.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on wild bergamot.

The wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) is blooming in Mariton’s fields right now and attracting lots of insects. This plant seems to have expanded in our fields, and has really spread out in Meadow #3. You get a sense of that from the photo above. It is pretty impressive.

Monarch Butterfly

Hummingbird Moth

The hummingbird moth is a beautiful creature. It is a daytime moth that is smaller than a hummingbird, but really does resemble one the way it moves from flower to flower. Notice in this photo how the flower head is actually made up of several small flowers.

Some butterfly weed is still blooming in the meadows.

Pearl Crescent on butterfly weed